Wellbeing Pocket Guide

This pocket guide is designed to support you in navigating event spaces while being mindful of your wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.

Breathing Exercise

Sometimes if we’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, taking a few moments to breathe is the first step to finding calm.

  • Find a quiet place to sit on your own, with a friend, or with a group.

  • Sit comfortably and make sure that your back is gently straight.

  • Place one hand on your chest and the other on your lower abdomen.

  • Inhale through your nose and exhale from your mouth.

  • Let your breath flow as deep into your belly as is comfortable, without forcing it.

  • Pay attention to how your abdomen and chest expand with each breath.

  • Some people find it helpful to count their breaths. Count steadily from 1 to 5 as you inhale and again as you exhale. Pause your breath for a few seconds after you inhale, and again after you exhale.

  • Repeat this breath at least three times.

  • Take your time and make it a habit to take a few moments for this exercise throughout your day.

Daily Self Check-In

At some point in your morning, whether when you first wake up or after a coffee or breakfast, take the time to ask yourself the following questions:

  1. How do I feel in my body? What is my plan for eating meals and staying hydrated throughout the day?

  2. How is my energy level? Did I sleep enough last night and can I take time to rest or get to sleep earlier tonight?

  3. What is one thing I am going to do for myself to bring ease and fun into my day?

  4. Who are my main sources of support today?

  5. What am I looking forward to today?

5-4-3-2-1 Wellbeing First Aid Exercise

Whether you’re at an action or in the middle of presenting on a panel, the following exercise can help bring you - or a friend - into the present moment and stay connected with your body. You can do this exercise to yourself or ask a friend to guide you through.

Identify:

Five

things you can see around you

Four

things you can touch around you

Three

distinct sounds you can hear

Two

things you can smell

One

thing you can taste inside of your mouth

Wellbeing Reminders

It is impossible to attend every single event or to connect with every single participant.

Try to prioritise and remember it is ok to take time out when you need to.

Listen to your gut - our bodies are our best communicators, and we often know what’s best for ourselves.

Trust your instincts, especially when it comes to matters of safety.

Remember that talking in high-level spaces and standing under the media spotlight aren’t the only ways to bring about change. You know the most about your capacities.

Don’t feel pressured to do anything beyond what you’re feeling ready for.

Try to be accountable and address racism, sexism, ableism or other forms of discrimination if you witness it in your groups.

If you are able, hold space for those around you.

System change is a slow process that should be rooted in collective responsibility, action, and healing. Support each other through active solidarity, allyship, and accountability to our privileges. Create a safe space that allows you and your peers to sit through difficult feelings.

Practice collective healing.

Everyone’s experience is unique and different, especially when it comes to wellbeing. Celebrate this by creating a space of understanding and solidarity.

Welcome everyone’s experience - including your own!

Joy is a form of resistance and a necessity to sustain your activism. We can learn from indigenous communities and decolonial movements who powerfully integrate music and dance into their action.

Whether expressing your culture by wearing traditional clothes, or celebrating with your people, hold space to feel joy in your activism, unapologetically.

Rest is Resistance

Your energy is also a resource that needs protecting.

  • Stretch or dance

  • Write in a journal

  • Go on a walk with a new friend - or an old one!

  • Call a close person from home

  • Read a book, listen to music or a podcast, or watch a show - whatever makes you feel good and lets you take your mind off the event you are attending

  • Sit outside with your face in the sun, take a deep breath, appreciate where you are

Building Our Revolution on Love and Trust

As much as we have fear, grief and anger

What if we mobilised our movements around love for the people and the planet?

As much as we have fear, grief and anger

What if we trusted in all the people who have been working and speaking truth to power for centuries?

As much as we have fear, grief and anger

What if we trusted in them and rooted our activism there, daring to reimagine a better place for the people and the planet?

“Caring for myself is not self indulgence, it is self preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

Audre Lorde